Great leaps forward recognised at the Spellman

Around 200 people turned up for the End of Drug Awareness Annual Event held by the Ringsend & District Response to Drugs (RDRD) service on June 29th at Ringsend College.

The event is a graduation ceremony for people in the community that the RDRD recognise to have made outstanding efforts in the battle against drug addiction.

Everyone involved with the RDRD, including the network of community groups who have supported them, members of the community who have availed of their personal and family support services and well-wishers from the area, were present. Local Gardaí were also present along with members of the Red Rock Garda Station, Adam Weafer and David Crowley.

Pictured: Family Support awards presented by Dublin Port Thomas Kavanagh and Lynette Harcourt.

In the RDRD’s Spellman Oscars the well known actors from Red Rock had the honour of presenting the outtakes of the Spellman Centre’s new short film, The Tunnel, to the service users involved. Manager of the RDRD, Teresa Weafer, Adam’s aunt, told NewsFour that the film sets out to highlight some of the cases of the service users and with the aid of local filmmaker and documentarian, Pat Larkin, filmed the service users journeys battling drug addiction. Teresa explained: “When Pat showed me pieces that we didn’t put in (the film) and I thought it was hilarious so I said why don’t we do an Oscars.”

The RDRD’s day programme, which is open to people who are struggling with a drugs issue and seek support, awarded its participants trophies of recognition, on their 3 year CE course, for their achievements in maintaining a drug-free status for a whole year.

Recipients of these drug-free status awards, amongst thanking their family for support could not forget how much help the RDRD’s key-workers have been in their progression.

Teresa told Newsfour about the team of key-workers RDRD have at present: “They carry out specific work with all the clients, they do one-to-one key-work, one-to-one counselling, they facilitate groups and they take them away on intervention. Michelle, Paul, Tony, Lisa, Liza, every single one of them all do incredible work.”

Members of the community who graduated from the six-week Drug Awareness Progression were handed their certificates in front of family and friends, the participants on this course, members of the community, some staff of the Spellman, youth workers, local Gardaí, parents and teachers in the local schools.

Appreciative of the turnout for the event was chairperson of RDRD, Tom Crilly, who made sure to recognise the partnership approach of people in the area with the Spellman centre, the Ringsend Community Services Forum, groups that RDRD work with locally, HSE, DSP and staff of Ringsend College for giving up their time to allow them to use the venue. Much gratitude must go out for the great work done by Sinead and Liz from the D4 Deli who served food and beverages throughout the night, and musical performances by the public on the night which included a memorable performance by Young Adam, of ED Sheeran’s Castle On The Hill.